Argumentative Essay: The Dehumanization Of The Holocaust

People are wearing no clothing in glacial weather, starving masses of plebians are being shot since they can not run any more expeditiously, sons are trouncing their fathers for a single piece of bread - everyone is famished, dehydrated, and perilously thin. This macabre situation was the Holocaust, as described in the book Night. Night, by Elie Wiesel, is a memoir of his experience during the Holocaust. Sparing no minutiae, he provides much valuable insight into what dehumanization does to mankind. The impact of dehumanizing Jews played a role in them being robbed of their morals, being deprived of their basic needs, such as food and water, and their family being garroted.

To begin with, Jews were dehumanized for the reason that their morals were gone. For example, while the Jews were being transported to Buchenwald, some passerby decided to throw pieces of bread in the caisson, resulting in Meir’s father pleading with him to cease hurting him, saying, "Don't you recognize me ... You're killing your father... I have bread...for you too ... for you too... " (Weisel, 101). Meir killing his father is a result of dehumanization, owing to the fact that their ethics have been stripped so badly that at this point, they would do anything, anything, for just a bit of food - even committing homicide against one’s, once-venerated, father. This changes Elie since after he witnessed a murder, over a mere crumb of comestibles, and that too at the young age of 16, it traumatized him, as well as de-sensitized him from cruelty and shock. To add, at Buchenwald, while Elie is looking for his dad, he starts thinking, “If only I didn't find him! If only I were relieved of this responsibility, I could use all my strength to fight for my own survival, to take care only of myself . . .” (Weisel, 106). This is an example of dehumanization as Elie, who once loved his father so dearly, now wishes to be free of the “burden” that is his father; thus, dehumanization has made Elie forget love, forget family, and only care about survival - akin to an animal. Later, Elie has said that he will never forgive himself for not being there for his father prior to his death - thus, this experience changed Elie by the reason that he now views himself as a disappointment and as an unforgivable individual, whereas he used to think of himself as a dutiful son. Thus, Jews were dehumanized in concentration camps as their morals were taken away from them; people who once used to believe to never sin are now killing their kin.

Moreover, individuals in the concentration camps were additionally dehumanized due to a lack of resources needed to survive, such as food and water. For example, while traveling to Buchenwald, Elie and the others “received no food. We lived on snow; it took the place of bread” (Weisel, 100). Many things can be classified as dehumanization, but none more than the taking away of food and water - in this quote, it says that they got no food or water, they survived simply on snow; if this isn’t dehumanization, what is? This experience changes Elie since it makes him care about food, nothing but food, and being starved almost to death changes him to be an unfeeling, uncaring beast. Another example is when Elie has just been transported to Camp Buna, he thinks, “all that mattered to me was my daily bowl of soup, my crust of stale bread. The bread, the soup—those were my entire life. I was nothing but a body. Perhaps even less: a famished stomach. The stomach alone was measuring time” (Weisel, 52). This is another example of dehumanization due to the fact that the Nazis are depriving them of food, a basic need to survive, and this has gone on long enough for Elie, and most likely everyone else, to only think about viand. The experience of being famished has changed Elie for it turned him into an apathetic person who cares about nothing more than food, much like an animal. Therefore, it is clear to see that the starvation of the Jews in the concentration camps contributed to them being dehumanized and becoming less than a person.

Finally, the hindmost way Jews were dehumanized in the concentration camps was due to the Nazis taking away their family. For example, in Birkenau, during their first time at a concentration camp, Elie says that he “didn't know that this was the moment in time and the place where I was leaving my mother and Tzipora forever” (Weisel, 29). At this time, Elie must have felt less than human, as family and love are an important part of being a human. He is affected a lot by this; he now has nobody else except for his dad, which he loses later; simply put, it rids him of his close family members and profoundly upsets him. To add on, in Buchenwald, Elie’s father got dysentery and eventually died - Elie says that “No prayers were said over his tomb. No candle lit in his memory. His last word had been my name. He had called out to me and I had not answered "(Wiesel 112). This is dehumanizing since Elie’s father, Elie’s only hope and reason to live has passed away - it took away the one thing he still loved. It changes Elie for the reason that he now cares about nothing else, not even living; it also makes him not able to forgive himself for what happened. Consequently, the taking away of one's family played a big role in dehumanizing Jews and others in the concentration camp; by taking away their family, the Nazis are also taking away each individual’s hope.

Hence, Jews and other groups of people were dehumanized in concentration camps due to them being stripped of all ethics, starved and dehydrated, and being taken away from families. All of these events played a role in not only the dehumanization of the Jews and others, but also took away their hope, making them stop believing in their faith. To end, the Holocaust was a terrible time in history; it dehumanized the multitude and killed countless more. Dehumanization, during the Holocaust and today as well, is not morally nor ethically correct and leads to tragic incidents; thus, you should stand up for those you see being wronged.